The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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74 ■ THE WOLFPACKER and service aces. The Lone Tree, Colo., native posted career highs in blocks, hitting percent- age and kills in 2018, and will certainly be a barometer for NC State's success as a team. Lauryn Terry will also play a big role, not just as a middle blocker but as one of only two seniors that will play this season (another is sitting out after transferring). Terry has seen a jump in statistics in almost every major category each season and this year she will be relied on more than ever. The impressive freshmen class is led by middle/right-side hitter Lydia Adam and outside hitter Daniela McDonald, who could also be asked to play a substantial role on this young squad. Adam hails from Chalkida, Greece, where she won back- to-back national championships with her high school and was a member of the U-16 and U-18 Junior National Teams for the country. McDonald, a Raleigh native, was named to the Under Armour Phenom List in 2017 and was tabbed a Prep Volleyball Senior Ace as a top recruit nationally. Hampton-Keith said she has learned from experience not to project too much on young talent, but to instead let the play- ers blossom without expectation. "I do expect for them to come in and compete," Hampton-Keith noted. The emphasis this spring for the Wolf- pack squad has been on defense, and not just defensive schemes but defensive effort and attitude as well. "We want to continue to work really, re- ally hard on putting those [defensive] sys- tems together and to become known for our relentless defense," Hampton-Keith added. NC State's defense will be put to the test from the very start of the 2019 campaign when it faces Austin Peay, the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference regular-season cham- pion that finished second in the league tournament, and Kansas State Aug. 30 to open up their season at home, followed by the VCU Invitational Sept. 5-6 with match- ups against Alabama, among others. One thing Hampton-Keith is sure of is that her young roster will give its best no matter what team is on the other side of the court. "We are always trying to give ourselves a chance to be in the conversation at the end of the season," the coach said. "We just want to be getting better every time we step on the floor." ■ Middle blocker Lauryn Terry is one of just two seniors on the roster that will play this year. She has started 69 of the team's 93 matches over the past three seasons. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS ■ By The Numbers 5 Matches on the schedule against teams that went to the NCAA Tournament a season ago. The Wolf- pack's schedule also includes 17 contests against teams that finished inside the top 100 of the NCAA RPI rankings last year. 15.35 Digs per set tallied by the Wolfpack during the 2018 campaign, which ranked second in the ACC. 17 Years since NC State swept North Carolina in a match prior to last year. The Wolfpack ac- complished that in a "red out" home match, where it won the first two sets by a combined five points before dominating the final set 25-16. The Wolfpack will have a chance to build on that performance this season when it hosts the Tar Heels Oct. 2. Newcomer To Watch Taylor Rowland comes to NC State after spending her first collegiate season with the Auburn Tigers. The 6-3 outside hitter suffered an injury last year, but showed her incredible potential in the 21 games prior. Even though the Charlotte native did not play the full season, she still finished third on the team in kills (189) and had nine double-digit kill games. Rowland had an impressive prep career at Cox Mill High School, where she was named to the AVCA Under Armour All-American squad, was tabbed as the 2016 and 2017 North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year, and had her No. 12 jersey number retired. Noting The Pack • Over the summer, junior Melissa Evans was selected to the U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team. The outside hitter is the first NC State player to ever make the USA Volleyball squad and spent the last week of June training in Anaheim, Calif. • The Wolfpack added a familiar face to its coach - ing staff this spring, as former All-ACC honoree Maggie Speaks signed on as a volunteer assistant. Speaks spent the past two years playing profession- ally in Greece and also on Team USA at the World University Games. In her role, Speaks will be able to train and coach at the same time. "With this opportunity, it gives me a chance to help out because the team needed another setter in practice and training as well, so it's a win-win situation," the NC State graduate said. • Under fourth-year head coach Linda Hampton- Keith, the Wolfpack has played its best volleyball in the final month of the regular season. In her previous three seasons at the helm, NC State is 16-6 (.727) in November conference play, compared to an overall ACC winning percentage of .638. • NC State added transfer Mmachi Nwoke to its roster this summer. The 6-1 Grand Prairie, Texas, native started 18 games last season for Kansas, tal - lying 88 kills and 78 blocks. The middle blocker registered a .526 hitting per- centage during her junior season, a substantial improvement from .320 in 2017. Nwoke will red- shirt this upcoming season, but is still expected to help this young team with her experience and be ready to go by the spring. She started her career at Arizona State and will be a fifth-year senior in 2020.